[PRP] And They Called it.... (Matty and Jove)

[Seussi]

It had been weeks since the dance, and while Mathias had given Holly what had seemed like sound advice, the type that he himself had promised to follow as well, he had yet to have found the time, or been able to gather up the nerve, to actually do it. In those last couple of months, the wolpertinger had spent most of his time avoiding his problem in puppy ghost boil form, sending non committal replies to texts if any were received, ignoring knocks on his dorm room door, and for the most part just involving himself heavily in any school activity that he could, in order to keep himself busy.

He had even thought about getting himself a part time job, but had decided against it, unable to even fathom what skills he might be able to provide to any workplace that was currently hiring, feeling all the more inadequate because of it.

Weeks. When he realized this, he felt horrible, but at the same time, whenever he had thought about facing Jove, he felt something else, a strange hollow emptiness in his gut, an anxiety that crept into his chest, and a jolt of irritation when he remembered the dance and why he had been angry with the other boil to begin with. He wasn't being unreasonable! But he was....being a little bit ridiculous, and he knew this, but still....he continued to put things off.

Until one day he knew it needed to stop. Well, not so much day as late evening, a time when he thought that Jove would be in his dorm room, a room that Mathias had never actually been in himself. The teenaged wolpertinger stood outside the door, chewing on his bottom lip, and again, not nearly for the first time, felt a strong desire to bolt.

Instead, he did the much more mature thing that he should have done weeks prior, and reached up a clawed hand to knock on the door.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Jove had not known there was a problem immediately after the failed dance. He had hesitated at those doors with their uncomfortable static electricity, faltered, paced, and then got distracted when he met the ghoul Alette once again. Even after their parting, he couldn't bring himself to go through those awful doors and join his friend inside the dance room.

He had texted a couple times since then, head tilting at the strange replies. He had been warned that it was easy to misread when you communicated through writing, but was he misreading? And between his jobs, Matty never seemed to be where Jove thought he would have been. By the scent alone, they were just missing each other.

Then suddenly there was a problem, something large and dark looming up between them where there hadn't been before. Or had there been something, and Jove just didn't notice? Weeks had passed, and even though he should have taken it as a sign his presence wasn't wanted, the pup continued to send the occasional text, and show up where Matty should have been but was not.

So when he heard the knock on his door, the last person he expected to see was the wolpertinger, who looked as nervous as Jove suddenly felt. Unsure of what to do, he slowly, hopefully, wagged his tail.

Seussi

 

[Seussi]

The door came open and Mathias sucked in a deep breath, fighting back the sudden urge to bolt that came over him once more. Jove was, of course, a sight that he had missed, and so for a good few seconds Mathias simply looked at him, trying desperately to calm himself, to try and undo the knot of apprehension that had settled in his belly. "Guten Abend, Jove." he finally managed to say, the air leaving him in one giant woosh as he let his shoulders sagged forward, his muscles relaxing.

The hesitant wag of a tail was seen, and Mathias bit down on the inside of his lip, hard enough to draw blood, in an effort to remind himself not to be taken in by all of Jove's adorable behavior. "Vas just thinking, have not been seeing in such long time. Vould like to visit..nein, to talk." He gave his head a small shake.

"But have not been knowing vut to say. Can I come in, please?" he asked, a hopeful lilt to his tone. This would be so much easier done inside than with him standing out in the hallway, feeling like a fool.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Jove stood there with that hopeful, nervous look for a moment longer, silently standing at the door until he realized Mathias had asked to come in. Immediately the ghost stepped back, cocking his head in invitation.

The room itself was as it usually was, simple, with a bed and dresser in one corner, a closet on the opposite side of the room, with a couch that faced nothing but shelves in the very center. There were pet beds on the floor almost everywhere a corner could be found, and many foxfires peered at their guest with beady black eyes from soft surfaces, including the beds.

There was no TV, but the shelves and furniture tops showed clearly how Jove kept himself entertained, many books, thick and thin, were stacked wherever there weren't little flower pots growing mushrooms. There was a huge variety of mushrooms around the room in those little pots, the only thing they all seemed to have in common with each other was the way they let off a soft glow, much like Jove himself when he blushed.

The pup gestured to the couch in the middle of the room, whatever Matty had to talk about, it would be easier to talk while sitting on a soft thing. Assuming the foxfires cleared off, that is.

Seussi

 

[Seussi]

Mathias took the invitation (which is what he assumed it was, at least) and entered to room, with small, hesitating steps, gaze taking in everything as he passed over that threshold. The first thing he noticed, of course, were the foxfires, all of which appeared to be staring at him in a most unnerving way. He tried to ignore them, however, as he continued to look around in silent awe at his good friends(?) room. The next thing he noticed, of course, were the mushrooms, because they were glowing, of course, just like the ones that Jove had given to him before.

And they appeared to be almost everywhere, also, in pots among books, occupying every little bit of free shelf space.

When he looked back at Jove, there was a small smile on his face. As nervous as he felt, it was impossible not to be taken in by the wonder of the ghost boils room. Of course, looking at him meant that he caught the gesture to sit, which was enough to remind him of why he was actually here, and he nearly jumped out of his boots, feeling suddenly, shamefully, startled by that fact.

"Ah, yes. Gut." He moved to the couch, faintly blushing, trying to cover up his nerves by moving with what he hoped appeared to be firm purpose, rather than rushing over to the couch like he felt he might do instead. Sitting himself down slowly (only in part due to hoping the foxfires would move, which they eventually did), he turned eyes towards Jove once more.

"Jove...vut are you thinking of is between me and you?" He asked, deciding, with a hard swallow, to just get down to business.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Jove was watching Mathias so closely it was impossible to miss the smile. The pup wagged his tail and foxfires all around the room seemed to wag with him. While the wolpertinger took a seat, Jove bounded over to a shelf and picked up a lovely blue potted mushroom. He carried it back to the couch with a gentle hand.

The foxfires on the couch vacated in a slow wave of fluff, curiously climbing over each other to avoid being squished. Then they seemed to close in around the wolpertinger, little fluffy bodies pressing against his legs and then little pokey feet on his lap as they settled down into more or less their original positions. One brightly coloured one decided to be a little more adventurous and stand up to lick Matty's jaw. They cleared out a bit more rapidly when Jove sat down.

The question caught him off guard. What did he think? The pup looked up from the potted mushroom, his head tilting slightly to the side. It felt like an odd question, but Jove's closest relationship up to then was his over-affectionate brother who simply said what he felt all the time. Mathias was more reserved in every aspect. Much more reserved! So did that mean… he was looking for reassurance, or was there more to the question?

The little ghost tilted his head the other way, suddenly forced to think about what their relationship was. Of course they were friends. But that didn't explain the strength of his feelings. Or the way he was willing to hold Matty's hand. With ghouls he would accept things like hugs and hand holding because that's what ghouls did, and you had to be nice to ghouls always. But Mathias was not a ghoul. And when then they held hands it was warm, and he… liked it.

Jove might not have come to the correct conclusion just yet, but he was starting to. Slowly the pup's cheeks began to glow. He abruptly shoved the potted mushroom towards his friend, wondering how to express all those thoughts rattling around in his head.

Seussi

 

[Seussi]

He didn't mind the fluffy bodies so much, as they parted then fell around him like a sea of soft fur. They were almost comforting, in a way, helping to settle frazzled nerves. They were warm, and undoubtedly quite a cuddly bunch, though he dared not to try and pick one up, rather letting them do as they wished, reaching out to scritch one or two of them behind the ears should they let him. The one that stood up to lick at his jaw earned a rather startled laugh before he was gently pushing it back down, it alone receiving a few strokes along it's fluffy back.

When Jove sat, they parted again, and the butterflies returned to the wolpertinger's stomach, his question posed. He watched Jove carefully, before glancing down to the pot on the other boils lap and the mushroom that grew within.

It seemed that Jove needed a moment to think, and Mathias was more than okay with allowing him the time, though every second that drug by felt more like an hour. He waited, though, patiently, only fidgeting slightly by shifting in his seat, hands going together, dark nails tapping, bottom lip bitten down on slightly from between his fangs.

The glow suddenly on Jove's cheeks felt both promising and dreadful at the same time. What did it all mean? He thought to say something, his mouth opening, but only a small sound uttered before the potted mushroom was shoved his way, and he was forced to reach out and take it.

He looked down at it again for a moment, startled, and then back to Jove again.

"I am sorry, Jove, but I am still not knowing vut this means." He said, fingers curling tight around the pot as a frown creased his forehead.

Grey Dragon